From: RoyMayeda@aol.com
Date: Wed Dec 06 2000 - 05:27:31 PST
From: RoyMayeda@aol.com Message-ID: <44.977f8c1.275f98c3@aol.com> Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2000 08:27:31 EST Subject: Re: pinhole salting water
Adding salt to water for cooking will have a negligible effect on the
temperature of the boiling water. The molal boiling point elevation constant
(Kb) for water is 0.512 °C/gram molecular weight. A teaspoon or so of salt
in several quarts of water will only raise the boiling point by a small
fraction of a degree. You'd have to add a pound of salt per gallon of water
to get a 1°C increase in the boiling point. It's basically added as
seasoning. I don't think it acts to "toughen" the protein in the pasta, but
I'm not sure. As for the sudden boiling when salt is added to hot water, the
crystals (probably actually the gases trapped in the surface irregularities)
provide nucleation sites for the gas within the liquid, much like the foaming
you see if you add salt to a carbonated beverage.
Roy Mayeda
Valley HS, Sacramento CA
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